Message from ALA Interim Executive Director

To our ALA Community: 

Our hearts are heavy with the recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many others while our nation battles the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown communities. The Association of Legal Administrators calls upon our members, business partners and stakeholders to join us in the fight for equity and justice in America and across the globe. Let us remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

ALA stands in solidarity with our colleagues of color. The work to be done to dismantle systemic racism is immense. As individuals, and together as an Association, WE ALL MUST DO BETTER. It is our duty as leaders in the legal profession to set examples for those around us at home and in our workplaces. ALA encourages its members to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. We believe that our Association can be the resource to help our members start the conversations, empower leaders to acknowledge the issues, begin the dialogues, commit to what needs to be done and make change happen.

We must work together to deliver the impact to our communities by educating and supporting an environment of cultural intelligence. Your ALA Board of Directors is working on diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility as components to the overall strategic vision of our Association. ALA is committed to widening our speaker pool to ensure we have diversity in race, backgrounds and life experiences. Additionally, we are implementing a plan to deepen the education for staff and volunteer leaders on inclusive communication strategies. We recognize that the work to advance our vision of cultural intelligence and change is a permanent movement, and this is just the start.

ALA's Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) remains a resource to you individually, and to your firms, organizations and chapters. Immediately, ALA will host an informational presentation and open discussion led by our CDI on this Friday, June 12, at noon Central. Details for registration will be distributed shortly. We want as many of you as possible to join this discussion because it is imperative that all individual voices and concerns are heard as we begin the work toward unity, equality and justice. As additional relevant content is developed, ALA's CDI has been diligently working to aggregate and curate materials to educate legal industry leaders about why diversity is important and how we can work to bring diversity and inclusion to the legal workplace.

Our thoughts remain with each and every one of you and we look forward to working together as an Association to bring about the must needed change that everyone deserves.

Sincerely,
April L. Campbell, JD
ALA Interim Executive Director

Debra L. Elsbury, CLM
ALA President